Should cross-party voting be outlawed?

Cynthia McKinney has always been more interested in making a fuss than making a difference. True to form, five of her cronies have taken legal action to protest the results of the August primary, when a broad coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans gave her the boot. The baseless suit blames Republicans for McKinney's defeat, a claim that ignores three critical facts: 1) cross-over voting is perfectly legal in Georgia; 2) an Atlanta Journal-Constitution study found that 3,118 Republicans voted in the primary; and 3) McKinney lost by 19,000 votes.

Tellingly, the McKinney crowd has given the defendants -- the state Democratic Party, the Georgia GOP and primary victor Denise Majette -- 60 days to respond, meaning nothing will happen before Election Day. If McKinney's minions wanted to force the issue now, before Majette is dutifully elected, they could try to speed up the process. Instead, they are content to cry foul for the media while it lasts, knowing their suit hasn't got a prayer.

This may seem like odd behavior, but some people in American political life gain power by claiming to be victims of "the system." McKinney may be setting herself up to run for president as a Socialist. (I know they call themselves Greens -- but they're Socialists.)

State Democratic bosses, meanwhile, may mount a more serious drive to end cross-party voting. While few have shed tears over McKinney, some would no doubt like to shut down Georgia's open primary, which allows each of us to vote in the primary of our choice.

Closing our primaries would further deprive Georgians of the chance to vote in meaningful elections without touching the underlying problem of grotesque gerrymandering. As CL's Kevin Griffis recently reported, gerrymandering has produced "lopsided districts that virtually guarantee" who wins in November.

Gerrymandering is an old business, but Roy Barnes has taken it to new lows. Under Barnes, representative democracy has been turned on its head, with Democrats choosing their voters instead of the other way around.

Under such conditions, open primaries must be preserved -- for voters of both parties. After all, Democrats in GOP districts also want to cast meaningful votes.

If Democrat chiefs do kill crossover voting, it wouldn't be the first time they've changed election rules in a huff. After Republican Paul Coverdell's runoff victory in 1992, apoplectic Democrats moved to let candidates win without a runoff if they get 45 percent of the initial vote, as Wyche Fowler did.

Hard as Democrat bosses try to deprive voters of meaningful choices, Georgians manage to make themselves heard now and then. All who voted against McKinney should be proud.

luke.boggs@creativeloafing.com